sans

See also: şans and såns

English

WOTD – 31 May 2010

Etymology 1

From Middle English saunz, sans, borrowed from Old French sans, senz, sens, from Latin sine (“without”) conflated with absēns (“absent, remote”). Compare French sans, Italian senza, Portuguese sem, and Spanish sin.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /sænz/, /sɑ̃/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ænz

Preposition

sans

1. without; lacking
   • c. 1595–1596, W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare], A Pleasant Conceited Comedie Called, Loues Labors Lost. […] (First Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] for Cut[h]bert Burby, published 1598, OCLC 61366361; republished as Shakspere’s Loves Labours Lost (Shakspere-Quarto Facsimiles; no. 5), London: W[illiam] Griggs, […], [1880], OCLC 1154977408, [Act V, scene ii]:

     Ber. […] And to begin Wench, ſo God helpe me law,
     My loue to thee is ſound, ſans cracke or flaw.
     Roſa. Sans, ſans, I pray you.

   • 1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance, Faber & Faber 2004 (Avignon Quintet), page 766:

     Those with brooms started to sweep literally, at the feet of the crowd, driving it back into the side streets from which it had emerged to form this assembly – now riders sans steeds.

   • 1991, A. R. Morlan, The Amulet, page 212

     But regardless of when Wally had parked himself out in that backyard—sans coat or jacket—somehow, the old lady must have known where Wally would be before he drove out to the Isaacs trailer—or else she followed him out there from his house.

   • 2007 September 4, Natalie Angier, “A Supple Casing, Prone to Damage”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     Skin needs ultraviolet radiation to begin the synthesis of vitamin D, but dermatologists say you can probably get the necessary electromagnetic input from a mere 20 minutes of sun exposure a week, as you go about your daily affairs, sunblocked and sans beach.

Synonyms

• (without): without, minus

Translations

without — see without

Adjective

sans (not comparable)

1. (typography) Short for sans serif.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

sans

1. plural of san

Anagrams

• ANSs, Ass'n, Nass, SNAs, ass'n, ass'n., assn, assn.

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Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈsans/

Adjective

sans

1. masculine plural of sa

Noun

sans

1. plural of san

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French

Etymology

From Old French sans, senz, sens, from Latin sine conflated with absentia in the sense "without". Cognates include Spanish sin, Portuguese sem, Italian senza, Catalan sens, sense.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɑ̃/, (in liaison) /sɑ̃.z‿/

• audio

  (file)

• Homophones: cent, cents, sang, sangs, sens, sent
• Rhymes: -ɑ̃

Preposition

sans

1. without

   Je ne veux pas partir sans toi.

   I cannot leave without you.

   Elle est partie sans parler à personne.

   She left without talking to anyone.

Derived terms

• aller sans dire
• faire sans
• sans aucun doute
• sans que

Further reading

• “sans”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Middle English

Preposition

sans

1. Alternative form of saunz

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Middle French

Etymology

From Old French senz.

Preposition

sans

1. without

Descendants

• French: sans

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Norman

Etymology

From Old French sans, senz, sens, from Latin sine conflated with absentia in the sense "without".

Preposition

sans

1. (Jersey) without

Antonyms

• avec

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin sensus, via French sens

Noun

sans m (definite singular sansen, indefinite plural sanser, definite plural sansene)

1. sense

Derived terms

• sanselig
• sansemessig

References

• “sans” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin sensus, via French sens

Noun

sans m (definite singular sansen, indefinite plural sansar, definite plural sansane)

1. sense

Derived terms

• sanseleg
• sansemessig

References

• “sans” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.